Don, at book launch, laments decay in varsity system
A UNIVERSITY of Agriculture Abeokuta (UNAAB) don, Dr. Yemi Akegbejo-Samsons, has warned that the festering decay in the country ivory tower would do more harm than good to the youths. Besides, he declared that not much value has been added to present day graduates because "there is no difference between university and secondary school students in the area of exposure and academic orientation going by what is obtainable in the nation's education sector."
Akegbejo-Samsons spoke in Lagos recently at the public presentation of a book titiled Life on Campus: a tale of the good old days, authored by Dr. Luke Onyekakeyah, a member of The Guardian Newspaper Editorial Board. Represented by Dr Rueben Abati, Editorial Board chairman of The Guardian, Akegbejo - Samsons said: "the author actually relives the academic environment and life style that produced the likes of ex-Governor Jim Nwobodo that stayed in the great Sultan Bello Hall of the University of Ibadan, the late Bola Ige, the Cicero of Esa Oke, Osun State; the ubiquitous Nobel Laureate Professor Wole Soyinka, the literary icon and a host of others to mention but a few.
"The entrance of the book into the strike-ridden university environment of today is the beginning of the much needed deeper reflection of the good old days when universities were universities and polytechnics were polytechnics. The university, as a post-educational institution, is supposed to be the final oven to bake the much coveted bread. However, over the years in Nigeria, it has lost the fire wood, coal and the charcoals needed to power the heat required for wholesome bread worthy of its salt."
He continued: "Anyone who is very sincere in in-depth analysis, anyone who cares to know what quality means, will know that the concept of the ivory tower got missing sometime in the evening hours of the 1977/78 Ali must-go struggle that set the National Association of Nigerians Students (NANS) against the then military government of Nigeria.
"It is my belief that the present decay in the ivory tower is a bad legacy to bequeath our children. Today, there is no difference between university and secondary school students in terms of exposure and academic orientation. The uniqueness of the campus arises from its complexity. I therefore recommend this book for all stakeholders in government especially those who had the opportunity to be in any of our campuses, they need to look back and judge their conscience".
Onyekakeyah noted that the book was a reminder of the good old days when securing admission into any of the Nigerian higher institutions marked the beginning of an evolution from life of irrelevance, ignorance and timidity to a life of great achievement and accomplishment.
His words: "that was a time the economy of the country was buoyant and graduates of our universities were in high demand in the job market. That was a time Nigerian graduates compared favourably with those from foreign universities and every student look forward to many great opportunities knocking at his or her door soon after graduation.
"We didn't plan for the ugly situation we face today, we had great dream at the beginning of our march to nationhood. That dream is not lost, we have only left it somewhere along the path; what we need to do is to retrace our steps and regain our bearing too recover what we abandoned."
